PISA 2025 puts Greek education under pressure
Greek 15-year-old students remain among the lowest performers in the OECD’s PISA assessment, with results highlighting persistent weaknesses in reading, mathematics and science and raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of education policies.
The latest assessment shows that students continue to struggle with basic skills, including understanding relatively simple texts, carrying out basic mathematical reasoning and applying scientific knowledge.
Although Greece recorded some improvement compared with previous measurements in selected indicators, its overall position remains among the lowest of the 91 countries and economies participating in PISA 2025.
Long-term decline remains evident
The Greek results form part of a broader international decline in student performance. According to the OECD report, average results across countries and subjects have fallen to historic lows, while the share of students failing to reach minimum proficiency has continued to rise.
In Greece, the downward trend has been particularly pronounced since 2012. Reading scores have fallen by 16 points, mathematics by 11 points and science by five points over the longer period cited in the assessment.
The decline has also affected several traditionally high-performing education systems, suggesting that the causes extend beyond individual national policies.
The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is one factor considered by experts, while growing attention is also being directed toward artificial intelligence, changing learning habits and the ability of schools to transmit and consolidate knowledge.
Results raise political debate
The opposition PASOK party sharply criticized the government following publication of the results, arguing that seven years of education reforms had failed to improve learning outcomes.
According to PASOK, between the 2018 and 2025 assessments, Greek students’ scores fell by 35 points in reading, 28 points in mathematics and 17 points in science.
The party said the decline could not be attributed solely to the broader international deterioration because Greece’s gap with the OECD average had widened across all three fields.
Ministry points to areas of improvement
The Education Ministry emphasized that Greece experienced smaller declines than some significantly wealthier countries with more advanced education systems.
It also highlighted a 4.2% improvement in Greece’s position in reading compared with the previous assessment and said Greek students performed above Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania.
In problem-solving in digital environments, Greek students recorded an average score of 461 points, compared with an OECD average of 500, placing Greece 47th among 91 countries.
The ministry also noted that 38 Greek schools, including 32 public schools, recorded science results well above or close to the OECD average.
Inequality and resources remain challenges
The ministry identified socioeconomic conditions as among the factors affecting Greek students’ performance.
It cited Greece’s lower per-capita GDP compared with the OECD average and the socioeconomic profile of students from migrant backgrounds, many of whom do not speak Greek at home.
The ministry said the effect of socioeconomic inequality on performance in Greece was lower than the OECD average, but acknowledged that this was largely linked to the concentration of results at relatively low levels across the student population.
Despite Greece having fewer students per teacher and smaller average class sizes than the OECD average, school principals reported shortages of teaching and support staff at higher rates than their counterparts elsewhere in the OECD.
The ministry therefore argued that the central issue was not simply the number of personnel, but their management, distribution and effective deployment.
School climate adds another concern
The assessment also points to challenges in the classroom environment.
Greek schools reported higher levels of lower-level disruptive behaviour, including disciplinary problems, unjustified absences and late arrival to lessons.
At the same time, indicators for more serious forms of misconduct, including theft, vandalism and physical violence, were at similar or lower levels than in other countries.
The Education Ministry also pointed to the restrictions on mobile phone use in schools as one measure contributing to the school climate.
A wider European education challenge
The Greek results come amid a broader deterioration in student performance across Europe and internationally.
Estonia and Ireland were among the countries recording strong results across the three core subjects, while Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania remained among the weaker performers.
The findings are expected to intensify debate over the future of the Greek education system, particularly over basic literacy and numeracy, socioeconomic inequality, the role of technology and artificial intelligence, and whether current reforms are translating into measurable improvements in the classroom.
Source:efsyn.gr
